Killing Carmen - an opera-musical throwback

“I have already been warned that I should fear for my life,” explains Carmen – foreseeing her own fate – in the finale of Bizet's “Opera of all Operas.” A few minutes later, she is dead, stabbed by her recently beloved Don José. A crime of passion or a societal crisis? Does Carmen's death symbolize the death of freedom itself? What void does she leave behind? What happens next?

After their two successful productions Die Zauberflöte – The Opera but Not the Opera and Schachnovelle at the Burgtheater, Nils Strunk and Lukas Schrenk are now engaging with a repertoire classic for the Volksoper. Together with musician Gabriel Cazes, they are developing a new adaptation of Carmen for a cross-genre ensemble. Bizet’s famous melodies meet various music styles: jazz, flamenco, western, musical, pop, chanson, and much more.